Life on a peony farm

Peony season is a busy time at Bliss Farm Antiques. The fields need constant tending, the stems need to be cut just before they bloom (so they open up in your home and not my field.) Mother Nature is not always cooperative, and she never lets us forget who's in charge. Some photos:

Madame Emile Debantene, a double, pink.

Festiva Maxima, one of my all time favorites. I love the bit of red in the center, it's a double white

This is a new cultivar called Coral Sunset, it is one of the first coral colored peonies to be developed. The stamen and the pistil are amazing with the bright yellow color and the bit of hot pink  at the tips.

Coral Sunset, A single coral peony

Classic Sarah Bernhardt peonies, a double pink

Peonies on the sideboard in the dining room...We believe the dark red single peonies with the yellow center are called "Bravura." Many of the cultivars we have are from an old farm in Rehoboth, with no names and no information we have to do our best to guess what they are. We can always tell the oldest varieties though, they are smaller and have strong, lovely scents.  Modern cultivars tend to be bred for looks-very large and very showy, with less emphasis on scent. One of the Bravura's can scent an entire room for a week!

During a good season we cut 6,000 stems, on a not so good season we cut 3,000. Either way, it makes for a busy spring around the farm.